


The Making of an Alpha

by GirlKitty (unforgettableromance)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Lance (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bottom Shiro (Voltron), M/M, Omega Shiro (Voltron), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Paging Dr Pidge, Rating May Change, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-24 11:40:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14354712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unforgettableromance/pseuds/GirlKitty
Summary: Shiro has been tormented and changed into an Omega by Haggar but after being saved by his teammates, the road to finding an Alpha may be tougher than he thought. Alphas aren't born, they're made. Forged in the fire and steel of battle, and the one person Shiro never expected steps forward to claim the right to have him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first time posting at AO3 and it's been a long time since posting a fanfic. I hope you all like it.

_Pain._ That was the first indication Shiro knew he was awake. Scorching pain ran throughout him, leaving no square inch of his body untouched. He tried lifting his head to look around but his muscles were too taut to even move.

The room’s purple haze filled him with dread. He couldn’t be back here. The last he remembered was riding in the Black Lion with Keith to a drop point on a Galra ship before purple sparks shot across the lion’s console. Then darkness until now.

Beyond the purple haze in the room, he knew there were soldiers waiting in the darkness, ready to kill him. Or worse, torture him beyond his limits. In the corner of his eye, he saw a Galra soldier with its back to him, typing something into a console.

“How many times are you going to experiment on me?” Shiro ground out through gritted teeth, though he didn’t expect an answer. “Let me go.”

Haggar suddenly filled his vision. He wanted to recoil but he had nowhere to go. “You keep getting caught, don’t you?” She ran her hand along his Galra arm and he shivered. “If you didn't want to be here, you wouldn’t keep come back.”

He lunged at her but the straps kept him bound to the table. “If you think I would ever want to be here, witch, you are dead wrong.”

She scoffed and floated away. “Am I wrong? Then leave.”

He powered up his arm, feeling the powerful white heat fill him but pain and weakness ripped through him, stopping. Her cackle filled the room and then exploded into his mind, unbidden.

“No!” he screamed. Through the flashes, he felt a needle enter his thigh and he struggled until electric sparks ran along his scalp.

 _Give in to me_. Her words forced their way into his mind. He wasn’t strong enough to force her out but he would never let her in.

_Never._

Her laughter was like a scorching fire along his skin and it was too much to take. Against his will, he lost consciousness and her voice followed him into the nightmares.

 

“...how we found him. He was barely breathing.” That was Keith. Shiro relaxed. He was safe; they both were now.

“How could they do this to him?”

That was Allura. He struggled to open his eyes and tell her…

Tell her what? About his failed mission? How they had injected poison into him and laughed as he had writhed first in pain and later from the fever?

“Shiro,” Allura called out. “Hold on!”

Darkness kept taking over, even though he fought to come back to the light. He had never been afraid of the dark before and he wasn’t about to let fear control him now. Surrounded by his team, he let go and slid into the cool darkness to heal.

 

The medical pod slid open and Shiro stumbled out. Slowly, the room came into focus and he saw his team mate. “Pidge?”

She turned around, saw him falling forward and ran to him. “Shiro, I thought you had at least another 12 hours to heal. I was just going to bed. Thank god I was still here.”

Actually, he still felt sick and incredibly weak, unlike the last time he had been in the medical pod. That time, he had lost a lot of blood while stuck on that alien planet with Keith. Now, he felt ten times worse.

Pidge put his arm around her shoulders to support him. She was surprisingly strong for someone so short, but then she would be after all the fights they had been through. “Shiro, you look like death walking.”

“I feel like it,” he said weakly and shivered. “Did the pod malfunction? I don’t think I’m healed yet.”

“You don’t feel fully healed. You still have a fever, I think,” Pidge said. She deposited him on a padded bench and then felt his cheek. She rolled the sleeve of her sweater to her elbow and then pressed her forearm against him. She felt cool and soft.

“I think I do have fever, maybe something more,” he croaked out. He tried to take in a deep breath, shuddering as he inhaled through his clear nose. “What is this? A space flu?”

“Maybe. I doubt it. Galra don’t have the same viruses like we do.” She poked and prodded him. “This could be a virus that they have an immunity to but we don’t. But the pods should have immunized you. I don’t get it.”

He looked up at Pidge, trying to make sense of what she said through his feverish haze. “Am I going to die?”

She typed furiously into her handheld compad. “No.”

“You sound so sure. How can you be sure?” He shivered.

She hooked up leads to a compad and held them against his forehead. When it beeped, Pidge frowned. “This can’t be right.”

Shiro grunted, trying to talk but the room was quickly melting away. “What’s wrong?”

Pidge sat him up but everything was moving slowly. “Come on, you need to get back into the pod.”

He grew weaker by the second as he followed her command. Darkness filled his vision with every step as his legs filled with lead. As he went down, he heard Pidge call out, “I need help at the medical pods!”

The buzzing in his ears drowned everything out and he succumbed to the darkness. It was hard to let go and freefall so he fought for consciousness.

Coolness enveloped him. He tried with every ounce of his strength to open his eyes and find out who brought this feeling enveloping him, making him feel everything was right again.

He felt the words more than he heard them. _\--Shiro, sleep.--_ He struggled but the coolness enveloped him again and it was such a comfort to him that he relaxed into a deep sleep.

“There, there now.” Allura’s words wafted as he was inserted into the medical pod.

 _He’s going to be okay. He has to be.._ Again, he felt the soothing words flow into his mind. No one had spoken them; he felt sure of that even though he couldn’t see anyone as his vision blurred.

“--and I’ll call for you guys if I need you again.”

“Maybe I’d better stay for a tick.” Coran busied himself at one of the consoles.

Even though his eyelids felt heavy, Shiro could see his crew surround the medical pod. After a few moments, Lance and Hunk both turned away before the glass frosted over.

“I think the pod must have malfunctioned,” Allura said before the buzzing started in his ears again.

“It doesn’t make any sense.” Pidge sounded puzzled. “I’m going to scan the medical database we have and try to cross reference his symptoms to see what he has.”

He tried to listen longer but the buzzing in his ears strengthened and then he fell into the darkness.

 

After what felt like only moments, he opened his eyes. Quickly, they drifted shut again but something deep inside him forced him back awake. A surge of adrenaline coursed through him as the pod door opened.

“Shiro!” Pidge was there immediately, holding out her hands to steady him but he didn’t need it. He was still dizzy and a little tired still but better now. He rarely got sick back on Earth but the few times he did, he felt awful like this.

She guided him to the bench where sat down hard, barely able to keep standing. She grabbed a comm pad and scanned him. “Your vitals look okay. I bet you’re hungry after being in there for three days.”

“Three days?” Shiro struggled. “We have to go--”

Pidge cut him off as she grabbed his arm. “You mean go to eat, right? You’re not going anywhere but there right now.”

Suddenly Shiro felt bone tired. Maybe Pidge was right. He need food and rest so he nodded and she put his arm around her shoulder to support him. “Hold up,” he said. “I’m pretty heavy.”

Pidge squinted up at him. “You’re what, two hundred?”

Shiro frowned. “One eighty, tops. Pure muscle, which is heavier.”

Pidge chuckled. “You think my computer gear isn’t heavy? You’re at least carrying part of your own weight.” She babbled on as she walked him through the castle to the dining hall.

Once they settled him down at the table with a bowl full of unappetizing food goo, Pidge crossed her arms and rested them on the table. She watched him eat for a few minutes before clearing her throat. “Shiro, we have to talk.”

He chuckled and took another bite. “That sounds ominous.”

“While you were asleep, I had plenty of time on my hands. I took a sample of your DNA and I found out it’s different than what was recorded at Garrison when you first started there.”

Shiro frowned. “The Galra changed my DNA?” He must have heard that wrong.

“They added onto it.” She adjusted her glasses and turned back to her portable computer pad. “What do you remember of your time with the Galra?”

He took a bite of goo as he tried to remember. “I’m not sure. Every time I’ve been there, I can only remember bits and pieces until something else triggers my memory.”

“Do you remember them experimenting on you?” He shook his head and she continued. “Okay, because I’ve tried cross referencing the extra strands of your DNA with all our known species in the database. Nothing matches except--”

“Extra strands?” Shiro pounced on that, even though Pidge looked hesitant. “And that sounds you found something.”

“About five thousand years ago, a species died out that had similar strands to human DNA but…”

“But what?” When she didn’t answer, Shiro glared at her. “C’mon Pidge. Don’t hold back on me.”

“They had compatible DNA but it leaned toward them being a hybrid animal species.”

Shiro blinked. “Okay, so? That’s not the strangest thing we’ve seen so far.”

“From everything I’ve read about their society, they had a strong social patriarchal hierarchy that resulted in Alphas and Omegas, along with Betas. The changes after a few thousand years should make their DNA incompatible with ours but if the Galra druids messed with it, that explains why you are running a fever…” she trailed off as she read the screen.

After a her silences stretched on, he prodded her. “Pidge?”

“What?” she yelled, almost surprised.

“What is wrong with me? Do you know?” he asked, frustrated.

She shut down the screen. “The only thing that makes sense with the data I have here...it looks like you’ve gone into heat.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paging Dr Pidge! And Allura explains a lot...or tries to.

 

Shiro didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Pidge, I’m human. I may have this Galra arm but...I can’t be in heat. I’m not a female.”

Pidge bit her lip. “I still have more research to do but you wanted to hear what I have so far. This is it.”

Shiro rubbed his hand over his face. This couldn’t be happening. He wasn’t a doctor but he knew basic biology from school. Humans couldn’t just change internal organs and genetic make-up to splice genes together like this but they also didn’t have robotic arms as weapons either.

If he had learned one thing since journeying through that wormhole, it was to expect the unexpected but nothing could have prepared him for this. His body was being changed on a cellular level. Could he even consider himself to be a ‘he’ anymore?

Shiro looked up from his food and focused on Pidge. “How do we fix this?”

Her eyes went wide. “Uh, I don’t know how to fix it. I’m not a doctor, Shiro.”

He stood up, trying not to stagger back against the table as dizziness hit him. “I can’t live like this.”

She took a deep breath. “If you rewrite your DNA again, who knows what might happen? I’m surprised this virus or whatever this is didn’t already kill you.”

 Shiro swayed. Pidge tried to get him to sit back down but he broke free of her hold and staggered toward the door. Through the buzzing in his ears, he registered Pidge calling for help but he ignored it.

He reached the door and tried to open it but it remained closed. “Come on, work, damn it.”

As if those were the magic words, the panels wooshed open but his world started to go dark. Lance stood there in his sleep suit and as Shiro’s last bit of strength disappeared he felt Lance’s arms go around him.

 

 

Lance slid Shiro to the ground slowly. “Pidge, what happened? You were supposed to call for us when the pod finished.”

“He woke up and was hungry so I walked him here to eat something. He seemed okay, just a little tired still.”

If there was one thing Lance definitely remembered from the medical pods was the gnawing hunger he woke up with but the fever that seem to plague Shiro was different. He thought the pod would have cured him but he still felt hot beneath the bodysuit. “What’s wrong with him?”

Pidge shook her head. “I’d better wait until everyone is here to tell you.”

Lance glanced down at Shiro, who shivered as he recovered from his semi-conscious state. He hated this limbo they had been in for days, wondering if Shiro was going to be all right. He was their fearless leader and Lance wasn’t sure what he would do if they lost him again.

Within minutes, the rest of the crew appeared in various degrees of being dressed for the day and by the time they were all assembled, Shiro had awoken, still bleary eyed and shaky.

Allura folded her arms across her chest, wrapping her dressing gown around her. “What is this all about?”

Pidge glanced at Shiro, who gave a nod, telling her it was all right to share with the rest of the team what exactly was going on. She took a deep breath and started rattling off what information she had gathered about Shiro’s sickness.

By the end of it all, everyone’s expression matched Lance’s feeling of confusion. Everyone but Allura, who steepled her fingers. “You think Shiro’s symptoms match an Omega’s heat?”

“Yeah,” Pidge said and slid her compad to Allura. “It’s the only thing that matches, not to mention his genes are different from back at the Garrison. I just don’t know how.”

Allura tapped on the unit and Lance tried to look at the screen but she was scrolling through it too fast. Finally, she nodded and looked up at them. “Shiro, do you remember any of what happened with the Galra this last time?”

“Um,” Shiro said softly and rubbed his face with his hand. “I remember a lot of pain.”

Lance swallowed hard. Shiro was the toughest of them and if it was bad enough to make mention of it all, then it had to be pretty awful. “Anything else?” Lance prodded.

Shiro squinted. “I remember a series of injections.”

Allura pursed her lips. “That’s what I thought. These genes look similar to Altean genes. I think Haggar must have engineered some sort of virus and injected it into you.”

 Lance shuddered. “What kind of maniac would do something like--never mind. This is Haggar we’re talking about. So what happens now?”

Shiro shook his head. “I don’t know how I can be ‘going into heat.’ I’m not female and I’m human, not an animal.”

“Well, Altean Omegas do go into heat and our DNA is very similar to yours, just we evolved in a different way.” Allura folded her arms across her chest. She fixed a glare at Shiro. “And it’s both male and females that go into their heat. It’s just male Omegas are rarer than females.”

“You see,” Hunk said. “You’re already special.” Allura gave him a haughty glance and he tucked his hands under his legs. “And that’s all I have to say about that, ever.”

“They’re also born as Omegas, not made into one. I’ve never heard of this happening before, if memory serves me correctly.”

Lance turned his attention to Shiro, who was staring at his plate. He could read his team leader’s body language pretty well at this point after serving as his right for the past two years. This wasn’t a submissive move, more like he was overloaded with information and no way to process it. He wanted to reach out and touch him, let Shiro know that he was there and he would give anything to make things better.

Pidge sat forward. “What do you remember about Omegas?”

“The ruling class of Altea was broken into Alphas, Betas and Omegas. In my line, Alphas and Betas skipped generations. My father was a Beta…” She trailed off.

Coran played with his spoon, tracing a pattern in the food goo. “He was Zarkon’s Beta in Voltron.”

Lance’s gaze shot back to Coran. “What?”

Pidge blinked. “Princess, that would make you an Alpha.”

“I know,” she said and then looked directly at Shiro.

A long moment of silence drew out between all of them. Lance glanced back and forth between Shiro and Allura, trying to gauge what they were thinking. “So what do we do?”

Pidge stood up. “I’m going to continue researching what we can do. Shiro, if anything can be done to reverse this, I’ll find it.”

For the first time all morning, Shiro smiled, even though he looked lost amongst the madness. “Thanks, Pidge.”

She nodded and walked out of the dining hall. Hunk started collecting their plates. “Listen, if there is anything you need from me, anything at all, just ask. Coran, can you help me with these?”

“Why would you need help carrying a handful of pla--Oh!” Coran stood and then bowed to Allura. “Those do seem heavy. Here, I’ll put them in the cleaner for you.”

The doors shut behind them and neither Shiro nor Allura turned to Lance but he suddenly felt the oppressive weight of being the third wheel here. “I’m going to suit up for a training session. You know where to find me if I’m needed.”

Shiro glanced up at him and nodded. “Thanks, Lance.”

He gave Allura a respectful nod before walking away. When he was a short distance away, he heard her say, “Perhaps here isn’t the best place to do this. May I come by your room later?”

Lance didn’t hear Shiro’s response but he could only imagine it. After the doors to dining hall closed behind him, he leaned against the wall for a moment. It wasn’t as if he ever had a chance with either of them; he knew that. He just occasionally like to entertain that small flame of hope that one day...

The doors wooshed open again and Lance turned to watch Allura walk away. “So this is it,” he said sadly and tried to snuff out the little stab of jealousy. If they found happiness together, then he would be happy for them.

Ehh, who was he kidding? He would have given anything to be either of them right now, even with the hell Shiro had gone through. His crush on them had fueled many fantasies over the two years they had been here.

He stood up straight as Shiro walked out. “You all right, man?” Lance asked.

Shiro nodded. “Get to work, Lance.”

“Right on it,” he said, immediately obeying. Shiro may have become an Omega but he was still their commanding officer until further notice and Lance didn’t want to change that at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more to come! I'm already a few chapters ahead but still editing those. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Shiro settled back against the soft sheets of his bed, trying to take this small moment to himself and relax. He never did that well, even back at the Garrison.

The sheer thought of what Haggar had done to him this time nauseated him and the food goo he had put back threatened to make a reappearance. He didn’t need to be painting his walls with his food revisited. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his head.

Maybe he should put off talking to Allura, or anyone for that matter. Pidge had been helpful but he was overloaded with information everyone thought he needed. What he really wanted to know...well, he had no clue.

Shiro hung his head. He couldn’t even get it together to figure out what he wanted to know about being an Omega. He wasn’t ever going to be some weak-willed, simpering lap dog but he didn’t think Allura would ever want that. 

Maybe he should go work out with Lance. Hand-to-hand combat always seemed to center him and clear his thoughts. He started to suit up but as he put on his gear, his mind still wandered. 

He didn’t really know what was expected of him. Of course he would continue leading Voltron. No one else could pilot the Black Lion, except Keith but he had left with the Blades as soon as he and Shiro were safe.

_ Bzzz. _

Shiro looked at his door in surprise. She was here already? He thought by later she meant much later, like tonight after their dinner but then they didn’t exist on the same day cycles here in space. He might have liked more time to put together his thoughts but like his instructors at the Garrison always said -- there was no time like the present.

“Come in,” he said finally as he stood.

With a swish of fabric, Allura walked in and stood in front of him, still in her dressing gown. It wasn’t exactly appropriate clothing for their encounter...or depending how things went, maybe it would be. She took in his attire and frowned. “You can’t seriously be thinking of training.”

“Of course I am.” Shiro squared his shoulders. “No time like the present to hone my skills.”

She held his gaze but he wasn’t one to back down. “You should be resting.”

“How can I rest at a time like this?” Shiro took a deep, steadying breath.

“You’ve been to hell and back. In fact, I don’t think you’re ready to hear what I came here to tell you.” She took a step toward him.

Shiro bit back a grin. “I’m not sure what to say, Princess.”

She blushed and glanced away. “I’m not sure where to start, either.”

Shiro blinked. “There’s no right way to do this.” He took a chance and closed the distance between them. He reached up to cup Allura’s cheek, brushing her high cheekbones.

She was dangerous, like holding a firecracker until the last second before it exploded in your hand and yet her hair was soft like a kitten’s. In that moment, he felt her strong will, the iron core of her being. This was how being near an Alpha felt like. 

Yet there was nothing deeper between them, not even a sweet warmth blooming inside him. He let the sharp scent of her wash over him, hoping to feel more. She reminded him of the sweet smell of cherry blossoms, mixing with the sharp tang of her overwhelming heat. Oh, Allura was definitely an Alpha, intoxicatingly so. 

“Shiro, no.”

He stopped by he didn’t pull away. “What do you mean?”

“I’m not your Alpha.”

He wanted her to be his Alpha. Shiro wanted, for once in his life, to have the answers be simple but it never was. She was a perfect mate for him. But everything in her expression said she wasn’t to be his. 

“I don’t understand,” he said and took a step back.

“I came here to tell you that I’m not your Alpha.”

He frowned. “How can you tell?” He shook his head. “This is all so new to me.”

“I am an Alpha, but not yours. Look inside yourself,” she said. “You know there’s not that kind of connection between us. We have a strong friendship and maybe even an attraction, but nothing more than that.”

“Maybe we’re not feeling anything because I’m near the end--” He stopped short. Saying it aloud made it more real that his life was never going to be the same now.

She shook her head. “I would have felt it, Shiro,” she said firmly. “An Omega chooses the Alpha. You would know if I was yours and so would I. We can’t force this. Actually, we could but neither of us would be very happy about it. There is an awful lot to be said about having free will, or at least my ancestors said so when they created laws about claiming Omegas.”

Even though she was letting him down gently, her rejection still stung. “I see.”

“Shiro, you may not know this since it’s all so new to you, but something you should know is that Alphas don’t have to be born as one. They can be made into one. But the bond has to be there. You can’t fake it.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

She didn’t speak for a minute, as if searching for the words. “Open your heart and your mind. Your Alpha is your protector, your other half and you’ll know them when you meet them.”

“Princess, if you haven’t noticed, I don’t need a protector.”

Allura smiled. “Shiro, if any of us needed a protector now, it’s you.” He started to protest but she held up her hand. “Not all Alphas are nice and civilized about claiming an Omega. Some will try to take you by force and I have an awful feeling about what Haggar was trying to do.”

The rolling nausea was back, making his mouth tighten. He couldn’t speak but it didn’t matter because Allura continued. “She’s an Alpha, like myself. Both she and Zarkon were.”

“What?” Now he was really confused. “How is that possible?”

“All I know is what my father told me but they fell in love. Alphas have hearts and just want to fall in love, too. Sometimes an Alpha never meets their Omega,” she said ruefully and looked down at her hands.

Shiro shook his head. “I didn’t mean anything by that.”

“I know and I also know that you’ve also had a lot to deal with over the past few weeks. You should take time to work through your thoughts on this.”

He shook his head. “All I need is to get back in the saddle.”

“Shiro--” He cut her off with a simple look and she acquiesced. “Fine, but remember you were injured. Don’t overdo it.”

“I agree, if it will make you happy,” he said.

She quirked her lips. “I know when I’m being placated. I’d stay until I was sure you were listening and following what I said.”

“I thought you weren’t my Alpha,” he said. He winced as he felt the full force of her glare. “Okay, fine. I’ll rest, at least tonight.”

Satisfied for now, she gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek before leaving him alone with his thoughts again. He had more answers now but even more questions than before.

Like what was that smell?

There was something in the air. It was like musk but it had a sweetness to it that made him shudder from the pure heat that filled him. The comfort flowing through his veins relaxed him and his eyelids drooped.

After a few minutes and no one else showed up, he laid down on the bed to rest. He closed his eyes but he couldn’t resist the desire that scent caused. He trailed his hand lower, down to his zipper. He opened his pants and pushed his hand inside. The flared head of his cock was moist with pre-cum and he grasped it, moving slowly but sure as he stroked himself. 

It didn’t take along before he came with a short grunt. That had taken him by surprise but he didn’t have long to enjoy the buzz when a short knock brought him out of his daydream. 

He grabbed a tissue and coughed. “Just a second.” He tucked himself away and zipped up. After giving his room a once over, he called out. “Come in.”

The doors slid open to reveal Lance. He was the last person he expected to see. He had helmet hair, his thick brown hair sticking out in every direction. 

“So when’s the wedding?”

Shiro grimaced. “With Allura? Never.”

Lance’s full lips formed an O. “She’s not your Alpha?”

Shiro shook his head. 

Lance nodded. “I’m sorry?”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. It wasn’t meant to be and no one else is an Alpha here but…” He trailed off, lost in his thoughts again _. _

He looked up at Lance who was leering at him comically. “Shiro,” Lance said, stretching out his name. He then raised his eyebrow at him and gave a long slow wink. Shiro tried to swallow his laugh but Lance kept going with the cheese as he shot Shiro a finger gun and grinned. “Baby.”

“Stop.” Shiro chuckled. “That was pretty bad.”

“Yeah.” Lance sauntered in and sat down on his couch. He smiled ruefully. “Yeah, but it’s good to see you smile.”

It felt good to feel light like this again. He had to keep things serious around the team and be their strength. Even if his mask slipped occasionally, he still had to keep an air of authority. 

Lance chuckled. “And to think I stood in the hallway for at least ten minutes, thinking of what to say to you.” He flushed and patted the back of his neck. “That probably makes me sound like an idiot.” 

Shiro shook his head. “Nah. Completely normal, I swear.” Actually he thought it was awesome, that Lance cared that much about how he felt. “And thank you.”

“It’s no big deal. This is a tough situation and I didn’t want to say something that would hurt you.”

He glanced up, catching Lance’s gaze. His breath caught as he fell into those blue eyes. 

Lance looked away for a moment and cleared his throat. “Take it easy, man.” He patted Shiro’s knee. “Get some rest. I’ll see you around.” 

The whoosh of the doors closing again gave him the privacy he had craved since stepping out of the pod. Shiro took in a deep breath, letting the fading scent wash over him. That smell wasn’t just a part of his fantasy. Once it was dissipated, he knew where it really came from and he he immediately remembered what Allura said.  _ Alphas can be made. _

He stared at the crack in door. It seemed impossible but could Lance be his Alpha?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 

The next morning, Shiro stared at the ceiling, tired and yet unable to sleep, going over the brief moments Lance was in his room yesterday.

Now he understood what Allura meant when he would know his mate. If he had been this consumed by Allura, she wouldn’t have left his room yesterday. Actually, all he could think of was dragging Lance back here and finding out just how compatible they could be. 

Wait...what if Lance had only been joking yesterday? The thought was like a knife in the gut, the sharp pain spreading to his heart. Lance was always willing to be the butt of any joke to lighten the mood. No, he wouldn’t tease like that. Surely Lance understood what was at stake here.

He had to put a stop to this. It was for the good of the team. None of them needed any distractions while out there. He dressed in his paladin gear and then made his way to the dining hall. The moment he walked in, conversation stopped. 

They all looked at him with a mixture of everything from curiosity to worry but finally Hunk spoke. “Shiro? What are you doing up?” Hunk asked.

He slid into one of the chairs and grabbed a plate of food. “What does that mean?”

“Well, you’re in heat, right? Isn’t that like getting your period?” 

Shiro gaped at him, struggling to find words to respond and stop the trainwreck but Hunk continued on, oblivious to everyone’s abject horror. “Like when Pidge gets her time of the month, she needs hot packs and I cook something nice for her.”

Shiro gaped at Hunk but he didn’t need to say anything because Pidge blew up. “Hunk! What the hell are you doing?”

Allura hid her smile behind her napkin. “Are you feeling all right, Shiro? I think we can handle this by ourselves if you’re still recovering from your injuries.” She stressed the last words and shot a glare at Hunk. 

“I’m fit for duty, Princess,” he said.

“And as for finding your Alpha? So what do you want do?” Allura asked.

“I’m not going to chase all over the galaxy.”  _ No reason to, not when my Alpha is sitting right in front of us.  _ “We have more important things to devote our attention to.”

Allura met his gaze. Did she know it was Lance? Could she feel the synergy that throbbed between him and Lance? There was nothing to be embarrassed about but he still looked away, feeling hot all over suddenly

“I agree.” Lance stood. “What are your orders?”

“Pidge, you’re with me today. Lance, Allura and Hunk, scout the planet for survivors.” After he spoke, he looked at Lance. In those blue eyes, Shiro knew him well enough to see the questions but his expression remained neutral and thankfully didn’t question his command. 

He might have snapped if Lance had questioned him right then. He did need Pidge on his mission and the Red Lion was needed on the surface, just in case there were survivors who needed immediate medical attention. 

Still, he couldn’t resist the need to have Lance near him. This was why he needed to get this under control. It was already beginning to distract him and that would only bring disaster to the team.

Once they were a good distance away from the other members of the team, Shiro spoke. “I’m sorry Hunk embarrassed you like that.”

Pidge sighed. “It’s okay. He’s always pushing my boundaries.”

“He’s pulling your pigtails.”

“I don’t have pigtails, Shiro. And someone should tell him that went out of style in the 1960s with women’s lib.”

He chuckled at Pidge’s huffy tone but she was still going on. “I mean, if he just asked me out...well, I don’t know where we would go. I don’t know if I’ve ever ridden in the Yellow Lion but I hear the pool in the castle is pretty cool.”

Shiro hummed. “Ready to go?”

“Sorry for babbling on, and yes, I’m ready. Let’s do this.”

  
  


Lance hitched his towel around his waist as he left the changing room and headed for the showers. He had waited to change out of his gear longer so he could have the showers all to himself after a mission like this. 

The remaining factions of Galra were getting desperate and the planet they had just raided was left decimated. The ones who had survived had left in a pod and gone, leaving behind only a message to let them know they would contact the rebel movement when they could.

Allura had taken it the hardest and all the way back to the castle, her silence had weighed heavily on him, especially since the lions were empty except for their pilots.

He entered the men’s shower room and he immediately noticed the sound of the water bouncing off the tiles. He was sure Hunk had come and gone. Shiro and Pidge had come back earlier than them so he figured Shiro would have finished long ago.

But there he was in the first stall, naked in all his male glory. Lance tried not to stare but with Shiro’s back to him, he soaked up the view as much as he could.  _ Wow,  _ he mouthed. 

Shiro turned around as Lance passed and gave him a nod. “Lance,” he said.

_ Keep it together, bro. _ Lance bit back a groan. He was lucky to form coherent sentences around their leader while he was fully clothed but he would not embarrass himself. So he just tilted his head in a respectful nod.

“I heard your mission was…” Shiro trailed off. He didn’t finish because there was no word for the devastation they had witnessed. 

“Yeah,” Lance walked over to an empty shower stall. He hung his towel and started the spray, hoping the water would wash away the darkness of the day. He wasn’t that lucky.

“I’m sorry,” Shiro said. 

Lance dunked his head under the stream, letting the water bounce all over his face to wash away the sweat from the day. He paused for a moment because the usual comment of  _ it’s all right _ didn’t seem right. It wasn’t all right. “Thanks,” he said instead.

He took a handful of water and scrubbed away the dirt. Once he was done, he glanced over at Shiro only to find him watching with an expression of hunger in his dark grey eyes. It sent a shiver down his spine. Lance licked his lips, tasting the water from spray, wishing it would turn suddenly cold to wash away the flames of desire. 

“What’s wrong?” Lance asked. Something had to be wrong because Shiro wouldn’t look away.

  
  


Shiro had known the moment Lance had stepped into the showers. He had thought by waiting that he could have avoided this very moment until he could be better prepared but he should have known that even in a huge castle like this, there was no way to avoid him forever.

Why would he want to? His essence seeped into Shiro, demanding that he come closer. Would Lance accept him as he was? He hoped so because now Shiro was sure of it, only Lance could put out this fire inside him.

“What’s wrong?” Lance repeated.

Shiro blinked and looked away, breathless. “Nothing.”

Lance turned off his shower spray and walked toward him, leaving his towel behind. Shiro froze, taking in Lance’s lean and muscular frame. Gods, he was gorgeous with his dark skin. 

“You shouldn’t have gone out today. You’re still weak.”

“That’s...not it,” Shiro ground out. Now that Lance was within arm’s reach and the divider could no longer hide his problem, it was too obvious and Shiro felt his cheeks burn.

Lance flushed and choked out an embarrassed laughed. “Oh geez, I’m sorry.” He rubbed his thick, wet hair nervously. “I’ll get out of here and...um, you can take care of that.”

Lance turned to go but Shiro’s hand shot out to grab him. He hadn’t planned that and Lance’s shocked expression almost made him pull back and apologize. 

One second passed and he was sure Lance would pull away and shoot him a pained, disgusted look. He didn’t. Instead, Lance’s breathing hitched and he licked his lips. “Shiro,” he said softly. “Are you sure?”

_ Yes. _ There hadn’t been anything he had been sure of for weeks now except this. He couldn’t ignore this desire, a need to feel Lance’s body against him.

Lance took another step toward Shiro. He smelled good, sweet but tinged with the saltiness of his sweat. “Shiro, I--” Shiro silenced Lance with a kiss. They could keep dancing around this or they could confront their situation head on. 

He felt Lance’s fingers thread through his hair, holding him place as he deepened the kiss. His lips were slightly salty from his sweat but more than that, Lance’s lips tasted even better than he smelled. Shiro sighed into his hot mouth, accepting Lance’s tongue with a fervor he had never felt before. 

Shiro reached between them and lightly touched Lance’s abs. When he didn’t push away, Shiro ran his hand along those lean muscles, moving lower. That heady musk instantly intensified, urging him on. 

With a moan, Lance broke the kiss. He pulled back slightly and Shiro moaned his disappointment. Lance chuckled, the sound full of confidence. “You want more?”

He looked up into Lance’s hooded blue eyes. “Yeah,” he said. His voice sounded husky even to himself and his need made his tongue feel thick and clumsy. 

Lance chuckled and claimed his mouth again, meeting his tongue and sliding along it, coaxing a moan from deep inside him. Shiro tensed as the fire in his belly curled, and then that fire flamed higher when Lance ran his hand along his hip and brought their bodies flush against each other. 

_ Oh Gods. _ Lance’s cock was hard. Shiro groaned as Lance bumped their hips together, controlling the slow and torturous pleasure. He broke their kiss only long enough to ask, his lips brushing Shiro’s, “Can I touch you?”

“Yes,” he said, it coming out more of a hiss at the end. Their bodies were sliding together, the water from their shower all the lube they needed right now. He thought he couldn’t feel any better but then Lance brushed the back of his hand against his cock and pure pleasure exploded along every nerve in his body.

His breath hitched in his throat. He couldn’t keep it together, not with Lance’s lips on his and his hand circling his shaft. Lance spread the sticky cum dribbling out of Shiro’s cock with his thumb and then started stroking.

He pushed his cock into Lance’s hand, unable to stop himself from responding eagerly. He could feel Lance’s approval, his excitement as Shiro held on to him.

“How do you drive me this crazy?” Lance murmured, stroking Shiro’s cock faster. 

Shiro panted, lost in his desire. He had no idea how crazy he made Lance but if it was anything like what he was feeling, then they both needed to be bound in straight jackets. 

The thought of being bound at the mercy of his Alpha sent a wave of pleasure exploding through him. He wanted to hang on, wait for Lance to finish but he couldn’t stop.

“Come for me,” Lance whispered. “Don’t hold back.”

Shiro gasped. He thrust into Lance’s hand, the drag of skin on skin contact too much to bear. “Nnh, I don’t...think I can stop...love this--” He cut off as his orgasm hit him hard and could no longer speak. He leaned his forehead against Lance’s as stars filled his vision. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More coming soon. Thanks for reading! =^..^=


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

  
  


Lance looked in the mirror for the tenth time that morning and sighed. It all seemed like a dream, last night in the shower with Shiro. Having a really hot, sex filled romp in the shower was the perfect spank fantasy. 

And it had all been real.

Lance let out a deep breath and swung his arms back and forth, trying to stretch out his tense muscles. It was hard to believe after two years of being in space that he had just jerked it in the shower with Shiro and it had been every bit as hot as Lance had imagined it to be. But how did he face Shiro today?

He couldn’t hide in his quarters all day. That would be stupid and wasteful of his time. Besides he wanted to see Shiro again. No, no, he didn’t. Wonder if he regretted last night? Wonder if he wanted more?

Lance sighed heavily and shoved his hands in his pockets. He walked out into the hallway and headed toward the dining hall. As he got closer, he saw someone walking toward him. 

He would know that figure anywhere. Broad shoulders, tight waist and thick, bulging muscles.  _ Guh.  _ Lance licked his lips. All the memories of Shiro’s bare skin from last night flooded back to him. He had been able to pick up the scent of Shiro’s spunk, though the water washed it away quickly.

The desire to cover Shiro with his thick ropey cum flared within Lance. He wanted Shiro to smell undeniably like he belonged to Lance, so that anyone else would know Lance owned Shiro. 

Lance recoiled internally and quashed that thought quickly. That wasn’t normal, was it? He cocked his head at Shiro. Maybe that whole Omega virus was affecting Lance now, which was just weird.

His nerves built as Shiro came closer until Lance could see his guarded expression.  _ Oh no, tell me he’s not regretting last night. _ His stomach dropped but Lance shoved those misgivings down and when they came within arm’s length, Lance gave his brightest and best charming smile. “Hey.”

  
  


Shiro melted a little when he saw that smile. He was worried Lance might have just got caught up in the moment and had second thoughts this morning. They had cleaned up last night and scurried off to their rooms without saying much more.

Instead, Lance’s gorgeous smile slayed him. “Hi,” he said, wanting to say so much more but that was all that came out.

Lance’s grin didn’t change as he said, “You know, I’d ask you to sit with me at breakfast but we kind of always sit together.”

Shiro couldn’t fault that logic. “That’s true but maybe…” He lost his train of thought when he looked into Lance’s dark blue eyes. He may have finished his first heat but that didn’t put a stop to his need to feel their bodies together. That might never stop.

As if he was hanging on every word, Lance leaned in. “Maybe...what?” he prodded.

Shiro rubbed the back of his neck, inexplicably shy after all that they had been through. “I thought maybe we could go do...something...together.”

“Like...a date?” Lance smirked. 

“Well, not exactly.” Shiro hemmed and hawwed, and his heart raced when Lance’s smile drooped slightly. “I mean, where are we going to go? It’s not like I can pick you up and we can go to the movies.”

“That’s cute, Shiro,” Lance said as his expression softened. “But we don’t just have any old car to ride around in. We have lions. Massive space lions.”

“We shouldn’t use them for personal use.”

“You’re right,” Lance said reluctantly. “You know, Red might get mad if she thinks I have someone else in my life.”

It was silly to get jealous over a machine but the bond between the paladins and their lions was strong, perhaps stronger than anything Shiro and Lance might ever have. He let out a sigh and looked Lance in the eye.

Lance blinked. “You don’t believe that, do you? Red is tempermental and choosy about her paladin but you’re our leader, her leader. And besides, I’ve liked you for like...forever. I think Red would know that and respect my choices.” When Lance realized what he said, a dark rosy blush spread across his tanned cheeks.

_ Liked you for like...forever. _ Shiro couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Then it’s a date.”

“What’s a date?”

Shiro whipped around to see Coran walking towards them. “Never mind.”

Coran shrugged. “Just thought I might be able to help. Oh!” He paused and looked between the two of them. “This is ‘date’ is a courtship ritual… between you two.”

Shiro didn’t know it was possible but Lance’s blush deepened. “Yeah,” Lance said and looked anywhere but at Coran. “So?”

“I’ve heard the mountains of Triguanite are beautiful. We’re not too far from there. I could pack you a snack basket.” Coran winked at them and then walked off whistling while twirling his moustache.

Lance and Shiro stared after him until he disappeared into the food hall, then Shiro glanced at Lance. “Did he just think he played matchmaker?”

Lance chuckled. “We’ll let him keep thinking that.”

  
  


After a quick discussion with Allura (‘Oh, that sounds lovely, have a fabulous trip’) it only took Lance and Shiro a couple hours to prepare and leave the castle. Coran had loaded a map in their space pod for them to follow and Lance watched the stars go by as they flew. 

The distant glow of galaxies was mesmerizing. Lance splayed his hand against the window of the pod, trying to trace the patterns as Shiro flew through the darkness. “Do you ever want to reach out and touch them?” Lance asked. 

“Not exactly.” Shiro chuckled. “They’re big balls of gas than could incinerate or melt our bodies if we came in contact with them. But I get what you mean.”

Lance smiled. “You do?”

“Yeah, they look like fireflies against the night time sky. I used to lay on my back and stare at the stars in the sky and say ‘one day, I’ll fly to those stars.’”

“Well, you did it...and then some.”

“We both did,” Shiro pointed out. 

Lance bit his lip. “For my whole life, I wanted to be a pilot and fly to the moon. Then it became Mars and then farther still. But I never dreamed I would get this far.”

Shiro tapped the console, taking the pod to manual controls. “You and me both.”

As they flew through the atmosphere, Lance called off the readings from the instruments while Shiro guided the shuttle through the dense clouds. Once they were on the other side of them, Lance gaped. “It’s amazing.”

The planet’s surface sparkled like the oceans of Earth reflecting the sun but as they flew closer, the crystalline coverings of the mountains became clearer and began to change colors. 

Once they had landed, they set up a protective bubble shield around the pod for a steady supply of oxygen and their safety. Coran had been fairly certain the planet was safe for humanoid travel but the universe could have changed over ten thousand years. 

Lance grabbed their food basket and climbed onto the wing of the shuttle. “I’ve never seen anything like this.” He sat down and set the basket aside.

“Yeah,” Shiro said breathlessly as he climbed up and sat down too. Lance glanced over at him. He loved the way Shiro sounded when his breath was taken away, like when they kissed. 

Just then, Shiro looked at him and heat ran through Lance. He leaned in and kissed Shiro on the lips. He tasted perfect, like the sweet air of a cold morning. Everything about this moment was perfect. 

He scooted closer, putting an arm around Shiro’s shoulders so he could cup the back of his neck, teasing the closely shaved hairs there. Lance ran his other hand along Shiro’s jaw as he sighed mid-kiss. 

Lance felt Shiro’s arms go around him, pulling him closer. Desire shot through him and he reached down to adjust his thickening cock to a more comfortable position. 

Shiro pulled away slightly. With a grin, he said, “We came here to see the sights, not spend the whole time necking.”

Lance cleared his throat and scooted back. As he did, he got a glimpse at the thick blurge in Shiro’s pants. He smirked. At least he wasn’t the only one feeling the tightness in his pants.

He reached in the basket and handed a small bottle to Shiro. “Some of the good stuff from Hunk’s stash.”

Shiro opened the bottle and took a swig from it. “Thanks. I was getting thirsty.”

Lance nodded. “This is kind of like parking, I guess.”

He frowned. “Parking?”

“You know,” Lance said and took a swig of the drink. It was frosty and tart and made his mouth water. “Wow, that’s an interesting taste.”

“Lance?”

He glanced over at Shiro. “Yeah?”

“Parking?”

“Oh yeah,” Lance said and chuckled. “I can’t believe you’ve never heard of parking. It’s where you take your car to this secluded spot and...you know…”

“And look at the stars?”

He smirked at Shiro. “Among other things.”

“I never did anything like that,” Shiro said and took another sip. “I was always too focused on school. I was the serious one.”

“I can believe you were the serious kid at school but you probably had girls chasing you all through the school. Guys too. I know I would have.”

“If they were, they never caught up with me,” he said and looked at Lance. “If I had run into you, I would have noticed.”

“Yeah,” Lance scoffed. “Only if you had knocked me down while running into me.”

“Hey,” Shiro said softly. “I would have definitely checked you out.”

The warm tingle started in Lance’s toes and moved upward. “Yeah?” he said, scooting closer. He grabbed for Shiro’s hand, threading their fingers together. He leaned into Shiro, feeling the warmth beneath his tight shirt.

Lance took it one step farther and leaned his head against Shiro’s muscular shoulder. He looked across the valleys as they turned a shimmering gold. It was stunning and then made Shiro made it perfect when he dropped a kiss on the top of Lance’s head. 

“Perfect, huh?” Shiro asked. 

Lance flushed. “I didn’t know I said that aloud. But yeah, this is perfect.” 


End file.
